I got to play Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 3 unspoiled, on the intended hardware, on their launch days.
Beat that, Fortnite generation.
Beat that, Fortnite generation.
Those of us who lived through PS2's dominance of the sixth gen should count ourselves as lucky
- Thread starter ScOULaris
- Start date
Yeah, I'm sure there's a lot of that. I grew up playing SNES, which I have nostalgia for and has some games I'd still put in my top 10. But when I think about it, outside of maybe 20 games, there's not much I care about. If I look back at all the generations in the past, I can easily weed out a lot of games I really have no desire to play again.
While I'll always like some classic games, I'm perfectly fine in the era we're in now
I love the PS1 but yeah these three consoles are probably the generation that have the best library if you combine them all
I think everyone can agree that at some base level, the games released today are more polished and satisfying.
At the same time, 2000-2004 was still probably the best era to live through, just in terms of games that totally upended the status quo and made your head spin with how different and crazy and innovative they were. GTA3 is objectively worse that GTAV, but GTAV is still far less of a change/evoluation than GTA3 was.
This is a take that nearly everyone over the age of thirty has lol. It's not at all unique to gaming to lament that kids won't know what it was like to live during X time period.
Kids today will be doing it in 20 years too.
People bemoan games that offer far more content than anything released in that era because they also have MTX. We have people who bemoan games have too much content as well lol
I personally don't share either view.
Best era by far is right now. And my first console was an Atari 2600.
I also still occasionally play games from the early 2000s era... since they still exist. And so can a child if they want to.
I personally don't share either view.
Best era by far is right now. And my first console was an Atari 2600.
I also still occasionally play games from the early 2000s era... since they still exist. And so can a child if they want to.
Yeah, I've basically made peace with the fact that games will never be as good for me.
EDIT: Or wait, do you mean the current generation? If so, disagree.
I mean, you don't even have to combine them. The PS2 is just stupid stacked.
EDIT: Or wait, do you mean the current generation? If so, disagree.
HD killed a lot of good devs and all but destroyed AA games
a lot of crazy, daring games that were made in the 6th gen wouldn't be made today
a lot of crazy, daring games that were made in the 6th gen wouldn't be made today
for a Nintendo enthusiast, that gen was pretty weird overall. it's when several big series went in very unexpected directions (Mario, Zelda, Mario Kart) and Nintendo had its first big scare about being forced out of the competition (2nd being the Wii U) but also had some of their best in the portable side of things even though handhelds weren't taken seriously by most.
the generation was also very lopsided. i wonder how it would have turned out if the console split was like in later gens. would it have lasted longer? it always felt like MS forced the following gen to start earlier than intended because the first Xbox wasn't doing well and they put out the 360 too early (the RROD could be attributed to a rushed dev process) which also forced Sony to release the PS3 earlier than they wanted.
the generation was also very lopsided. i wonder how it would have turned out if the console split was like in later gens. would it have lasted longer? it always felt like MS forced the following gen to start earlier than intended because the first Xbox wasn't doing well and they put out the 360 too early (the RROD could be attributed to a rushed dev process) which also forced Sony to release the PS3 earlier than they wanted.
people crucified DMC 2 and the first killzone back then lmao
Yeah, i loved that gen as well! Especially the JRPGs of that era, but games are better today. No doubt.
That gen was before my time (I mainly grew up on 7th) but I have to agree to an extent. The amount of experimentation is the most impressive imo with tons of games built around singular novel concepts. PS2, DS, and Wii were bastions for those types of experiences.
there was real value to being able to make top-tier games for only a few million dollars
console games might be better today, but they waste more developers' time, so there are far fewer of them
maybe a AAAA game today is a nice experience, but that same group of people could have made 10 AAA games in the same amount of time back then. i'm not saying you have to compare things on that metric, but that might help you see things from a different perspective
you'll find people with fond memories of a franchise where they got to play maybe 5 games in a span of 8 years. and now those same series only get 1 game per decade. the same is true for entire genres (although that was more on the PC side than the console side)
console games might be better today, but they waste more developers' time, so there are far fewer of them
maybe a AAAA game today is a nice experience, but that same group of people could have made 10 AAA games in the same amount of time back then. i'm not saying you have to compare things on that metric, but that might help you see things from a different perspective
you'll find people with fond memories of a franchise where they got to play maybe 5 games in a span of 8 years. and now those same series only get 1 game per decade. the same is true for entire genres (although that was more on the PC side than the console side)
I find these threads where people dream about the "good, old days" of gaming are a great opportunity to bring people up to speed that we've never had it better than we do right now in terms of variety and quality. There's a wealth of amazing experiences outside of the AAA bubble, many of which are dirt-cheap to free.
A lot of what you say there doesn't really make any sense, so I just assumed it was some meme thing. And the weird comment at the end about a child being able to do it was a big wtf. Just had the vibe of a copypasta. Maybe it was just me, I dunno
I was a great time no doubt. But I don't think todays kids are in the slightest unlucky that they weren't there. They will still be able to discover each genre and it will all be new to them.
I have my own nostalgia googles as well, as I started console gaming in earnest with the 7th gen, but I have to give it to the 7th gen. While it was a massive budgetary leap up which had some harmful effects, it was also a pretty great gen.
- Nintendo turned non gamers into gamers with the Wii and DS transforming the way people play.
- Sony, while starting the gen with egg on its face, got humbled and did better. An increase in exciting, cinematic genre content whilst maintaining the variety of the PS2's output. Meanwhile the PSP carved a healthy niche with great games and experiences.
- Xbox grew into its own with must own multiplayer experiences and single player gems, earning tons of new fans and becoming a household name.
- XBLA, Wiiware and PS Store lowered the barriers to entry, allowing for a ton of indie devs to cut their teeth and make games for the big guys.
- Valve was in their prime on the PC side releasing banger after banger after banger.
- MMOs were fucking thriving with a new one a week (which ended up a problem in the long term but still).
- Bethesda, Bioware and Rockstar arguably released their very best games and were outputting regularly at the time.
- Naughty Dog shattered boundaries and became Sony's key studio.
- Minecraft took the world by storm and made tons of kids very happy.
- YouTube started around this time and we had content creators like Screwattack, GameTrailers, AVGN and hell, even the Irate Gamer to keep us company.
- Some of the biggest third party IPs got their start in this gen.
- Online play hit the big leagues.
Really, the 7th generation represents what I want the ninth to be. I want some genuine competition, not a 2:1 slaughter. I want New IPs and new takes on old IPs. I want to see tons of cool new WRPGs and Action Games and Adventures and Shooters. I want to see family fun and further steps forward in narrative. I enjoyed the 8th gen but it was great for Sony but very hit or miss for MS and Nintendo, and I feel some of the third parties got very complacent.
- Nintendo turned non gamers into gamers with the Wii and DS transforming the way people play.
- Sony, while starting the gen with egg on its face, got humbled and did better. An increase in exciting, cinematic genre content whilst maintaining the variety of the PS2's output. Meanwhile the PSP carved a healthy niche with great games and experiences.
- Xbox grew into its own with must own multiplayer experiences and single player gems, earning tons of new fans and becoming a household name.
- XBLA, Wiiware and PS Store lowered the barriers to entry, allowing for a ton of indie devs to cut their teeth and make games for the big guys.
- Valve was in their prime on the PC side releasing banger after banger after banger.
- MMOs were fucking thriving with a new one a week (which ended up a problem in the long term but still).
- Bethesda, Bioware and Rockstar arguably released their very best games and were outputting regularly at the time.
- Naughty Dog shattered boundaries and became Sony's key studio.
- Minecraft took the world by storm and made tons of kids very happy.
- YouTube started around this time and we had content creators like Screwattack, GameTrailers, AVGN and hell, even the Irate Gamer to keep us company.
- Some of the biggest third party IPs got their start in this gen.
- Online play hit the big leagues.
Really, the 7th generation represents what I want the ninth to be. I want some genuine competition, not a 2:1 slaughter. I want New IPs and new takes on old IPs. I want to see tons of cool new WRPGs and Action Games and Adventures and Shooters. I want to see family fun and further steps forward in narrative. I enjoyed the 8th gen but it was great for Sony but very hit or miss for MS and Nintendo, and I feel some of the third parties got very complacent.
OP
OP
Yes, this was one key difference that I touched upon but didn't go into depth about in my OP. I think it's an extremely important distinction to make between the modern era and the sixth gen. There are certainly a lot of good games to play today, but a lot of that weight is being carried by indies. If it weren't for smaller indie projects we'd have massive droughts between larger releases. I mean, shit... We went an ENTIRE GENERATION without a Team ICO game. And now we can say that we only got ONE Team ICO game in two generations!
I was PC gaming only when the PS2 launched and was already well aware of the pros and cons of post-release support. To be honest, I prefer that developers can patch things because they can also make improvements and add new content (sometimes at no additional cost) as well as fix anything that is broken. Of course it largely depends on the publisher/developer but generally speaking I think the means to do it are worth the negatives it sometimes brings. There's a very bright side to ongoing development, as games like Minecraft, No Man's Sky and American/Euro Truck Simulator 2 demonstrate.
The sixth generation gave me SSX 3 though and it will always be special for that. :D
The sixth generation gave me SSX 3 though and it will always be special for that. :D
What kind of crazy, daring games aren't being made by amazing indie developers?
Someday there won't be a Team ICO at all because people retire, but there's tons of new developers with new crazy ideas.
The PS2 will be 21 years old this year. Twenty one years before the PS2 was when the Intellivision launched.
As much as I like the PS2 it was a bit overhyped. I'm partial to the PSX myself. That first console was magical in a way I've never really experienced again. Dreamcast and Xbox come close though. The SNES matches it and they're by far my favorite consoles. Also it's too bad you're too young to remember the SNES vs Genesis. Those were good times.
PS2 was a glory period for me personally. So many amazing games at that time, and a ton that I never was able to get to.
I'm more than fine with what we have now, so I don't need to revisit that era.
I'm more than fine with what we have now, so I don't need to revisit that era.
To me that's the 32 bit era, 3d was new, lots of space on cds, people experimenting with controls.
I don't think there's that much innovation during the ps2 era besides people talking about mr mosquito. Ps3 is way more innovative imho.
I was just rolling some Katamari last evening OP.
I too remember the days of finished products and plentiful AA titles... The only thing holding back nowadays is the propensity to release totally fucking borked programs without any proper QA on the off chance they'll make enough money to fix their broken product, that shit is awful compared to shipping finished discs.
A PS2, a GameCube, and a neighbor with an XBOX- truly the best of times. 😢
I too remember the days of finished products and plentiful AA titles... The only thing holding back nowadays is the propensity to release totally fucking borked programs without any proper QA on the off chance they'll make enough money to fix their broken product, that shit is awful compared to shipping finished discs.
A PS2, a GameCube, and a neighbor with an XBOX- truly the best of times. 😢
Started with the NES generation and seen them all. As much as nostalgia makes me smile and old cartridges or these pictures of games take me back it's really not comparable. We can come up with a lot of things to gripe about when it comes to modern gaming and we do on here on a daily basis. But games from back in the day aren't better. The best time to be a gamer is the present.
I never really cared for the PS1 that much myself, only really liked the stand out RPGs on it. But I HAD to have a PS2 eventually cause it's line up was just too much.
None of them have the equivalent budget of ps2 games in its era. All those games you see in that graphic are AA and AAA games. IMO AA and AAA games taking risks offer far far better gaming experience than indies doing it. ps2 games not only had quirky and ingenious game design ideas but backed it with production value unlike indie games which often only have good game design ideas but often have no production value to back it up
As a European kid without money for a chipped PS3'2 and expensive import games — my experience are flimmery 50hz and large black bars on FFX, DMC and all the good PSX-RPG's you Americans must have had a good time with.
I can't imagine how it must have felt having access to the superior version of PSX and PS2 with good games easy accessible in all shops.
I can't imagine how it must have felt having access to the superior version of PSX and PS2 with good games easy accessible in all shops.
I don't agree at all. Last year alone we had things like Hades, Spiritfarer, Ori, Genshin Impact, Streets of Rage 4, Crusader Kings III, 13 Sentinels... all with amazing production values. And all in different genres too.
Nah I have no nostalgia for the ps2 days, games are ugly af and take forever to load, cant think of any that I would want to play today
How does 13 sentinels compare to the cream of the crop today in terms of production values like say TLOU 2? There is a huge difference.
Now how does a game like Silent Hill 2 or Shadow of the Colossus compare to any AAA game with huge production values from that era? Compared very favorably. Not only did these games take insane risks from a game design perspective, they were also the cream of the crop in terms of graphics, music, environment detail etc.
None of those games you mentioned today are even remotely close to a RDR2 or a TLOU2. Which is why I said, these games today have the ideas but don't have the budgets and production values to back up those ideas. That is the difference.
You might say why should Hades have a bigger budget. My question would then be what if it did? What if it looked as good as RDR and still retained everything in terms of game design.. We will never know.
In the ps2 gen this was not the case
Going through QA cert was harrowing as hell back then. Not only were the publishers way more stringent, but when you finally got through you knew what bugs were going to be in your game forever as you couldn't patch.
One game I worked on has a game stopper bug that neither our QA or Sony's caught and it still haunts me to this day.
One game I worked on has a game stopper bug that neither our QA or Sony's caught and it still haunts me to this day.
Oh, hey, my quote is on the back of that Alter Echo box. That was a really cool game, and sort of indicative of what made the PS2 era so attractive to the whole "just throw shit at the wall and see what sticks" approach.
A massive install base and a single primary platform (that eventually got documentation and proved out Kutaragi's insane custom approach to basically defining the generation's feature set), plus relatively low budget for games given the potential returns on just modest sales, all coupled with a major shift in games becoming mainstream all combined into a perfect storm that really can't ever happen again. Those planets won't align again in the same way for a host of reasons this thread has done a good job of documenting.
The PS2 was just the right console with the right library at the right time, and I'm so deeply grateful that I was part of the industry during that conflux. It'll never be like that again, and I still have countless amazing memories of the turn of the century. I can't believe that was half a lifetime ago. Words can't possibly explain just how special it all was, and it's a rare thing to be aware of it in the moment.
A massive install base and a single primary platform (that eventually got documentation and proved out Kutaragi's insane custom approach to basically defining the generation's feature set), plus relatively low budget for games given the potential returns on just modest sales, all coupled with a major shift in games becoming mainstream all combined into a perfect storm that really can't ever happen again. Those planets won't align again in the same way for a host of reasons this thread has done a good job of documenting.
The PS2 was just the right console with the right library at the right time, and I'm so deeply grateful that I was part of the industry during that conflux. It'll never be like that again, and I still have countless amazing memories of the turn of the century. I can't believe that was half a lifetime ago. Words can't possibly explain just how special it all was, and it's a rare thing to be aware of it in the moment.
Yeah I know, Persona 4 released in 2008/9. The thing about being old is that everything after you're 20 doesn't seem that long ago. Lol.
Mark me down in the "I hate nostalgia" column. I haven't bought as many or enjoyed as many games since going all digital around 2012. I mean games just keep getting better IMO.
Games like TLOU II and RDR2 are just not feasible to 99% of the devs, and that's why they are exceptions and not the rule. Games are much more expensive and hard to make today.
Over 2,000 People Worked On The Last Of Us Part 2—But That Number Should Have Been Higher
The Last of Us Part 2’s production was made possible by 2,169 developers, as noted on the title’s MobyGames credits and reported by VG247 Monday.
www.forbes.com
The games I mentioned are great the way they are, and in many cases they are leagues better than AAA games (Disco Elysium writing is unmatched by any AAA RPG imo).
